By Kathleen Newman-Bremang

Well, taking cues from Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Love Hewitt before them, Mariah Carey and Scarlett Johansson are the latest famous ladies to bite back at bloggers for focusing on their weight. Both stars are no strangers to tabloid drama and both would like you to know that you can't believe everything you read.

After Carey was snapped on Easter Sunday in a form-fitting pink dress, blogs were reporting that the singer was pregnant. Mariah took to her Twitter account yesterday to set the record straight. Carey Tweeted that the reports were "B.S." and that "she could've definitely lived without" the unflattering pictures.

"I don't know what was worse, the bleak angles and bright peach dress just to be festive ... or the B.S. commentary/blogs," she wrote. "For the record [the] dress and hair were not 'red carpet' attire!" Read more...

By Cara Alwill with Jem Aswad

New York City is filled with legendary music venues, from Radio City Music Hall to Town Hall to the big kahuna itself, Madison Square Garden. But there's absolutely no place like Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater, which has hosted just about every soul legend in its 75 years in business — Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and countless others, and of course it was the site of three live James Brown albums: in 1962 (which many consider the greatest live album of all time), 1967 and 1995.

On June 8, the legendary theater will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a star-studded bash, and to mark the event Mariah Carey and Jamie Foxx will induct singer Patti LaBelle and producer/musician Quincy Jones into its Hall of Fame,
according to The Associated Press. Read more...

By Rachel Josue

It was a very exciting 2008 here in the MTV Newsroom. It was a year of triumph and tragedy, a year of secret weddings and pregnancies, a year of overcoming adversity and a year of inspiration and change.

2008 brought us everything from the shocking death of Heath Ledger and the tragedy that befell Jennifer Hudson and her family, to the reinvention of Britney Spears and the successes of "The Dark Knight" and Tha Carter III. Your favorite artists and celebrities eloped (is it legal yet, Speidi?), married overseas (nice tats, Mariah and Nick) and got hitched in secret (thanks for finally admitting to that, Jay and B). They had babies and — in true Hollywood style — named them strange things (I am available to babysit when Bronx befriends Brooklyn and they have a play-date in Manhattan. Just saying.). And, Chinese Democracy actually materialized, to the delight of Dr. Pepper fans.

Read more...

It used to be that the Grammy nominations were a relatively staid affair, one held very early in the morning in a nondescript banquet hall of a hotel in New York or Los Angeles. A group of musicians — usually a rock band, a pop tart, some country songbird and always Jimmy Jam and/or Terry Lewis — were herded onto a platform, thrust before microphones and forced to read off the names of nominees. Someone would inevitably make a joke about being hung over. Barely awake reporters and cameramen watched listlessly. There was usually also coffee and Danishes for everyone.

But this year, things are different. In an attempt to spice up the nominations, the Grammy brain trust has decided to throw a giant concert, where acts like Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, the Foo Fighters, B.B. King and John Mayer will perform and (presumably) also announce the nominees. It's been dubbed "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music's Biggest Night" (note the use of double exclamation points to convey excitement). It will take place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS from 9 to 10 p.m. Wednesday.

There will probably not be any coffee or Danishes served. Read more...

Lately, there's been a mess of speculation that Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon are expecting a little bundle of joy. And Mariah's appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which airs today, is only raising the alert level on the baby-bump watch.

When asked by the talk-show host if she is pregnant, the singer gave this response, "No, that's OK [to ask]," E! Online reported. So, the wily Ellen instead offered the pop star a glass, saying, “You don’t have to answer that. Let’s just toast with champagne.”
Read more...

By Conor Bezane

It's been a long, strange week for me at MTV News. While many of my co-workers jetted off to L.A. to work on the VMAs, I stayed behind to hold down the fort. A handful of MTV Newsers and I spent all weekend cutting 30-second promos teasing our red-carpet show, a show I was really looking forward to seeing. Why? Because it was supposed to feature a piece I had written.

In the week leading up to the VMAs, I was asked to script a package about Britney Spears and Mariah Carey — neither of whom had ever won a Moonman. It was supposed to showcase the amazing videographies of both Britney and Mariah and play up the rivalry between the two. I spent hours working on the script, and my editor, Lee Dultz, estimates he spent nearly 48 hours over the span of a week carefully crafting a video package worthy of the the VMAs. But when our red-carpet extravaganza aired live, there wasn't enough time to air the video.

Of course, Britney was the big winner at the VMAs this year, taking home trophies for Best Pop Video, Best Female Video and Video of the Year, while Mariah once again went home empty-handed.

I thought my piece would never see the light of day, but we decided to give it a second chance on the Newsroom blog. So, without further ado, check it out. Britney and Mariah: A tale of two VMA losers.

Additional reporting by Ashley Mastronardi

We asked a lot of celebs about "love you long time" recurring in pop culture — thanks to Mariah's new single — and now we're asking you: Do you find the phrase offensive or empowering?

Here's a sample of what some New Yorkers had to say:

Valerie Stahl: "It was used as derogatory in the film, and it's a sort of sexual joke, I'd say. It's more derogatory towards Vietnamese culture than women in particular, because of how it was used in the film, but it's also a shot at a woman as a sexual object. It's kind of ironic that a majority of these pop singers using it are women, so in a sense, it could be a term of empowerment of sexual freedom."

Catherine Sharp: "I think it's degrading, absolutely. To me it means someone, usually someone of Asian descent, in an area where prostitution is more common and where they're treated worse, even worse than they are here. I think it refers to that. I think a lot of people will just listen to the songs and not really notice it, but when you hear it, it's kind of a ridiculous thing to hear."

Sunjeoung Lee: "I feel like it's an issue of freedom of expression. It's OK to use it, but you have to be responsible. When you use whatever phrase, you have to know what kind of impact you're going to have on other people, especially if it's going to be Asian people, Asian women listening to that music."

Kai Kuroiwa: "Among Asian-Americans, it's kind of like a running joke, like something you might see in a pornographic film. I didn't even know it was being used in these songs. Among males, it's a different issue, but it is a race issue."

Cassy Wheeler: "I wouldn't listen to Mariah anyway. It seems like every time you turn on the radio they're talking about slamming women, just treating women without respect."

Join the debate — tell us what you think!

By Kristin Grimmett

Yesterday afternoon, while John Norris was interviewing Mariah Carey in the greenroom after "TRL," I was in shock because I was able to attend. I was trying to get my eyes to adjust to the ice on her finger & wrist (which was pretty fantastic), when John asked how she felt about Barack Obama having a shot at the presidency. Being that I'm of mixed heritage as well, I perked up to hear her answer — and I was in for a surprise.

First of all, you need to know that when John asks an artist a question, 10 times out of 10, the answer is about them — even if the question is about someone else. So when John asked about Obama, I was not expecting Mariah to turn her head, look directly at me and say, "I have another biracial partner in this room right here, and we met on an MTV moment. I know I'm not directly [answering the question], but can we discuss this?" [Editor's note: That's Kristin, the author of this blog, with Mariah and MTV News staffers Nick Neofiditis (left) and Luther Burke (right) in the photo above.]

As my face flushed, the camera turned to me, and John put the microphone in my face. What was going on? This does not happen. Read more...

With the biggest names in baseball flying into town this week for what will be the last-ever
All-Star Game to be played at New York's legendary Yankee Stadium, we here at MTV News' New York offices have been stricken with baseball fever. It's hard to escape baseball this week. No matter where you turn, there's some sort of reminder that the fastest fielders, the strongest arms and the biggest bats in the game are all here, to ensure home-field advantage for their respective league in the fall classic.

All this baseball in the air got us thinking about music's all-stars — the artists who've shattered sales records this year, produced hit after hit and have been packing out arenas coast to coast. If music had an all-star game, who would we want to see in the dugout? After careful consideration, here are some of our picks — and feel free to let us know who'd go in your team in the comments section below. So, here goes.

Read more...

If you've ever wanted to work with pop diva Mariah Carey, well, here's your chance. Starting tomorrow, Indaba Music, an online community for aspiring and established producers and artists, will make available the complete stems of her third E=MC² single, "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time," for those willing to take on the challenge of remixing the track. Members of the site will vote for their favorites, and the winner — chosen by a three-judge panel — will walk away with $5,000 and the possibility of having the track released. The winner will also earn the distinction of being Mariah's top MySpace friend for four whole weeks.

To enter, fans and aspiring producers need create a profile on Indaba, so they can download the song stems; all entries must be submitted no later than August 26. Read more...